Wednesday’s Jose Diaz-Balart Reports on MSNBC had what initially appeared to be a promising segment about the rise of black families who have decided to homeschool their children. However, that promise evaporated when it was portrayed as a useful way to get around new Republican laws that seek to combat far-left racial theories and politicized versions of history.
Diaz-Balart led off the segment by reporting that, “for a growing number of black families, the COVID pandemic has made them decide to homeschool their kids” before introducing correspondent Antonia Hylton’s more in-depth report.
Introducing a video segment, Hylton repeated Diaz-Balart’s point about COVID, “For a growing number of black families, they have decided to keep their kids out of the classroom for good. They told me their problems with existing public school systems didn’t start with the pandemic, but COVID shutdowns gave them a good excuse to walk away. Take a look.”
The video began by highlighting Brenaea Fairchild who founded the Melanin Village, “a collective of black families that have decided to homeschool, many driven away from public schools after the pandemic exposed inequities”
That could’ve led to an interesting discussion about the power of unions, their relationship with the Democratic Party, and the effects of shutdowns on learning, but MSNBC went another direction.
After reporting that “Before COVID, only 3% of black students were homeschooled. In 2021, it shot up to 16%,” Hylton asked Fairchild, “When did you decide that this is what you wanted for your kids?”
Fairchild declared that, “I looked at the presentation of slavery in the Civil War in U.S. history textbooks, it's not accurate, it’s not honoring to the African-American experience.”
Without knowing the specific textbooks in question, it is difficult to make an honest assessment of Fairchild’s claims, but based on what Hylton would follow up with, skepticism appears to be justified, “Village parents were fed up with schools that had few teachers that looked like their kids. Many offended as districts struggled to teach about race. And at least 36 states passed or proposed laws to restrict those conversations in school.”
Those laws prohibit schools for compelling white children to feel guilt for simply being white. They are not written in such a way to prohibit uncomfortable discussions. Still, Hylton, who has never been one for facts on this issue, asked “When you look at the state of schools right now, are black kids being served?”
Declaring that it isn’t, Fairchild replied, “Our current system is not designed in a way to serve black children.”
If MSNBC wanted to talk about the disproportionate impact COVID shutdowns had on black families they should have at least mentioned the close, triangular relationship between Democratic politicians, unions, and public health officials, not simply another misrepresentation of new GOP curriculum laws.
This segment was sponsored by Google.
Here is a transcript for the August 17 show:
MSNBC Jose Diaz-Balart Reports
8/17/2022
10:39 AM ET
JOSE DIAZ-BALART: Thirty-nine past the hour, students across the country are now returning to the classroom for the new school year. But for a growing number of black families, the COVID pandemic has made them decide to homeschool their kids. NBC’s Antonia Hylton has more.
ANTONIA HYLTON: Hey there. This back-to-school year, some families are making a different choice when it comes to their kids’ education. For a growing number of black families, they have decided to keep their kids out of the classroom for good. They told me their problems with existing public school systems didn’t start with the pandemic, but COVID shutdowns gave them a good excuse to walk away. Take a look.
BRENAEA FAIRCHILD: You guys want to feed some animals?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: You want more?
HYLTON: It may look like a simple summer outing, but these kids are at Terhune Orchards in New Jersey for a full day of school lessons about plants and animals. They are the Melanin Village, a collective of black families that have decided to homeschool, many driven away from public schools after the pandemic exposed inequities.
Do you want to go to regular school?
GROUP OF CHILDREN: No!
HYLTON: Not one person?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD 2: For a whole entire day? No.
HYLTON: Before COVID, only 3% of black students were homeschooled. In 2021, it shot up to 16%.
FAIRCHILD: And once you do it—
HYLTON: Brenaea Fairchild says many aren't going back. When did you decide that this is what you wanted for your kids?
FAIRCHILD: I looked at the presentation of slavery in the Civil War in U.S. history textbooks, it's not accurate, it’s not honoring to the African-American experience.
HYLTON: Fairchild founded the Melanin Village to share school materials and organize group activities with families like hers. They’ve served over 450 families since 2020, thousands attend their conferences. Village parents were fed up with schools that had few teachers that looked like their kids. Many offended as districts struggled to teach about race. And at least 36 states passed or proposed laws to restrict those conversations in school. When you look at the state of schools right now, are black kids being served?
FAIRCHILD: Our current system is not designed in a way to serve black children.
